(This text was submitted prior to Annual Conference) Annual Conference 1999 Saturday evening, July 03, 1999 Milwakee, Wisconsin Preacher: Kurt Snyder, Pastor of Roann (Indiana) Church of the Brethren Sermon title: "What's That Smell???" Scripture text: Luke 7: 33 - 50 Returning from Volunteer Service in 1981, I sought employment in virtually the only place in our rural mountain area which was available , a leather tannery. The 25 mile drive was pleasant the mountain road which meandered through a landscape of forest and Appalachian farms. I often lost myself on the drive, devouring the scenery and the solitude of the car. Each morning, however, the spell was broken as I rounded a particular bend in the road. Not yet within sight of the factory, a foul odor from the tannery invaded my space of solace, slapping me sharply back into the reality of the day. Such an ambush was only the harbinger of things to come. Within the factory a myriad of other pungencies lie in wait. Ammonia, chemicals, sweat, leather, dankness, and exhaust. I would return home each day with not only the physical remnants of the job upon my clothes and body, but also with the pervasive aura of the environment enveloping me like a shroud. It not only announced to the world where I had been, but also what I did and even somewhat who I was. We rarely assess the power and complexity of our sense of smell. We only really become aware that our sense of smell is at work when taken suddenly by surprise by some invading aroma. For example, we enter our home from a particularly difficult day and we become pleasantly aware that our spouse has been preparing for our arrival by the excellent smells coming from the kitchen. Or worse, we arrive home after a particularly difficult day only to be cruelly confronted with some malignant form of mold or something which strangely resembles a backed up toilet. Have you ever gone to the refrigerator eagerly anticipating a sandwich or snack only to find as you open the crisper drawer you are viciously attacked by the repugnant oder of broccoli that is weeks over due? My frequent excursions to the local gas station/coffee shop hang out seldom go undetected by my wife as I return with a pungently offensive aroma of stale coffee on my breath and second hand smoke on my clothes. Smells are unavoidable: Perfume to ammonia, fabric softener to sweaty socks, new leather to gym bags, baked ham to the hog farm, baby powder to dirty diapers, honeysuckle to honeywagon, rosebuds to roadkill, a new car to your favorite mechanic's body odor. You get the idea! It is certainly safe to say that we often underestimate the ability of aroma to engage and captivate us both physically and emotionally. A variety of emotions, sensations and even memories, both positive and negative, are associated with smell. Smell may reassure or repulse, comfort or offend, bring someone to your mind or stir up a long forgotten feeling. It may also befuddle, confuse, calm, or alarm. To test my theory about the variety of reactions that may be raised at the idea of aromas, just turn to the person beside, look at them very seriously, and say, "Excuse me, but what's that smell?" and watch their reaction. You know, the Christian witness of our lives emits an "aroma" of sorts which makes associations in the minds and hearts of those we interact with. Such unexpected encounters with others either compels or repels. As a result, our active witness for Christ contains a subtle, yet distinctive, pervasive and far reaching fragrance which either invites people closer to Him or hinders an further desire for a relationship. The essence of evangelism is our attempt to attract attention to Jesus, the Son of God through the witness of our lives. His mission becomes our mission. Luke 19:10 says that, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Both Seeking and Saving are essential elements in God's quest for the hearts of humanity and humanity's search for God. It is not an either/or, but a both/and proposition. It is the fragrance of our life that either invites the separated persons to search or the excuse they need to discredit any spiritual pursuit. Our approach to evangelism and method could make all the difference in someone else's life. Evangelism is the community of God's people bringing others into an encounter with the Christ and with the Cross. Tonight's scripture lesson illustrates this truth, which changed the focus of my ministry. Luke 7:33 and 34 says, "For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." Despite this irresponsible critique of Jesus, my heart leapt at the utter truth it contained. At the very center of a defamatory remark aimed at attacking Jesus credibility as a spiritual leader comes an unwitting confirmation of all that He stood for. Jesus was indeed a "friend of sinners!" It was His pattern, His distinction. See how many other times this criticism was leveled at Jesus and these similar "scandalous associations" - the disciples questioned His behavior among themselves "Why is He talking to that woman?" (John 4:27), The muttering crowd as He meets with Zacheaus "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner'!" (Luke 19:7), the Pharisees condemnation of Jesus acceptance of Levi's invitation "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" Jesus answer? "It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick"(Luke 5:30). Indeed, "for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). Christians who have forgotten this will not honestly work at the concept of evangelism. Jesus compelling attraction, His fragrant appeal, was that He loved people! How much of our current approach to the witness of our faith is in terms of the mediocrity of being known for who we don't associate with, where we don't go, who we would not want to be seen with, etc.? Our first impression may create a long standing and entrenched reputation of not only our church, but of our Lord. Evangelism is a partnership between God and God's people which is described by Frederick Buechner as "the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet". Jesus did not avoid sinners, indeed, He sought them out, befriended them, brought His "deep gladness" where the "world's deep hurt" exists. Rick Warren ("The Purpose Driven Church", 1995) evaluates the work of witness in that "we cannot do it without God but He has decided not to do it without us." II. Jesus came to Seek Humanity at large has lost themselves to God. He, of course, knows where we are as certainly as He knew where Adam was the entire time He called out, "Adam, Where are you?" However, He searches in order to alert us as to where He is and for us to discover the fact that He desires us to find Him. He has not abandoned us. He searches in such a way to make Himself available. "I will be found by you, when you search for me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:31). We need to search not because God is illusive, but because we must be sincere in the desire to find. The passage continues into a story of the "sinful" woman who invades a private audience with Jesus in a Pharisee's house. "(Verse 37) When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, (Verse 38) and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. (Verse 39) When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.'" You really did not need to be a prophet to guess the particulars of her life. Yet, it is not our past that concerns Jesus, but our future! What do we smell like to those whose encounter with Christ begins with their association with God's people? The Pharisee chafes at this invasion of his space, his sanctity, his professional credibility, his spiritual persona. Yet the woman risks the scornful rejection of self righteousness in her search for God, even to the point of coming to God's people, sometimes a very risky thing to do. The aroma that literally filled the room, because of the woman's adoration and anointing of Jesus, offended the Pharisee. It was to him the smell of a sinful life, a decedent way of living, a disgusting pronouncement of her unfitness for the Kingdom of God. Robert Schnase (in "Testing and Reclaiming Your Call to Ministry", 1991) says that, "Pharisees who always deal with the clean, never unclean are like doctors who avoid the sick." He had no personal encounter with grace to which he could relate. He had no sense of his own lostness, of his need for grace, his own dependance upon and thankfulness for God's love. Quite frankly, to this seeker, his witness and proclamation of his spiritual life stinks! Yet to Jesus, her offering was the smell of repentance, of a life changed by responding to the grace of God, of the unfolding of change, the fragrance of worthiness refreshed upon a burdened child of God. C.W. Brister says (in "Pastoral Care in the Church", 1977), "In reality, it is not to church men that the world's sin sick and embattled citizens turn, but to Christ who they hope to find through us or in spite of us." Jesus displays His heart of searching as He reaches toward her searching heart. V. 44 thru 48 says, "Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman?'" Good question. Simon probably had an immediate answer. "Of course I see her! She's invaded my home, disturbed my dinner, insulted my guests, brought her languorous lifestyle in to the sanctity of my home! Do you think I cannot see her?" It was not, however a question of eyesight, but rather a question of insight! No, Simon, "Do you see the woman???" The person! Not the prostitute! Do we enter our community hoping to support and interact in anyway we can? Do we assume that because our building is in good repair and open Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, that we have an inviting fragrance. Is our only interaction with the wider communities of which we are a part our coming to them with some fund raiser to pay our bills or finance some obscure mission work. Do we absolve ourselves of the guilt of neglect by reassuring ourselves that we have a correct theological understanding of scripture? James says it so plainly, "Faith without works is dead!" Evangelism is taking the initiative to see the persons in our communities, to invest in their needs, to make friends, and demonstrate the love of Christ in ways that release the fresh fragrance of the value of a Spirit filled life, not the moldy staleness of entombed tradition. Jesus calls us to Seek. To find "the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet". Some of our own congregation's seeking has taken the form of persons joining local organizations, such as the fire department or Lion's Club, hosting "appreciation Sundays for various sub groups in the community, sponsoring a community Child care ministry, weekly meetings for community youth in our old remodeled church building, county wide concerts with cross over appeal to secular youth yet with clear Christian ministry, etc. Mission trips have been initiated in disaster areas, inner city, other countries. Recent trips have brought our members face to face with the depths of human need in a Tiajuna landfill. Jesus came to seek . . . III. Jesus came to Save "Simon," He says (Luke 7:44 thru 48), "I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." 48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." Evangelism is bringing people not only into an encounter with the Christ but also into an encounter with the Cross, the fragrance of transformation, liberation, welcome, inclusion, belonging, Jubilee, freshness. Consider these passages; John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Yet God did not wait for us to attain a prescribed criteria, "for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). John 1:12 "to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13 children . . . born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." Col. 2:13 "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. (How???) He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross (emphasis added). 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." After humanity was created in God's image, Jesus came into this world made in our likeness, took the initiative to seek us out, reveal the heart of God to us and invite us into a transforming dynamic relationship which lifts us out of our futility and into His kingdom. This access, this spiritual transmutation, this personal connection comes at a price. Jesus died in our place for the sin which separates us from God. God does not overlook sin, He deals with it. Heb. 9:11 thru15 "When Christ came as high priest . . . He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood (emphasis added), having obtained eternal redemption. . . . How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins . . ." Compassion without the cross is like comfort without a cure. The unconditional mercy of God is a healing reality only on the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross which specifically confronts and conquers our sin. We are in error when we proclaim a legalistic doctrine which requires people to come the Christ throught unattainable effort or perfection. Yet we are likewise in error to declare Jesus a champion of all inclusive illicitness. Jesus said, "I have come to seek and to save that which was lost." Jesus came to save . . . IV. What is that smell???? "The Lifesaving Station" (Time permitting, see attached sheet) 2 Cor. 5:14 For Christ's love compels us, . . . he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. . . . 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Will we befriend and embrace the lost, the misguided, and the misfortuned? Do we anxiously seek the return of the prodigals of this world? Will we run to welcome the repentant, the returning with the same grace we ourselves have received, though they still may smell like their former surroundings? Evangelism is the converging of the wandering heart's willingness to be found with God's watchful heart's willingness to forgive. May humanity find sudden and surprisingly pleasant encounters with God's people. May we take the initiative to serve, to proclaim, to model a love that commands attention and leaves a lasting impression. 2 Cor. 2:14 "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us (emphasis added) spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." The search is over, the Christ welcomes you, the Cross vindicates you, your faith in the Christ of the Cross has saved you. Go in peace. Go into all the world.